familypediawikiaorg-20200214-history
Benson County, North Dakota
Benson County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2010 census, the population was 6,660. Its county seat is Minnewaukan. Benson County was created by the 1879 territorial legislature and named for B.W. Benson, a Dakota Territory legislator at the time. The county government was first organized on June 4, 1884; Minnewaukan has always been the county seat. Sullys Hill National Game Preserve and much of the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation are located within the county. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of . is land and (or 4.08%) is water. Townships Adjacent counties *Towner County (north) *Ramsey County (northeast) *Nelson County (east) *Eddy County (southeast) *Wells County (southwest) *Pierce County (west) Major highways * U.S. Highway 2 * U.S. Highway 281 * North Dakota Highway 19 * North Dakota Highway 20 * North Dakota Highway 57 National protected areas *Pleasant Lake National Wildlife Refuge *Silver Lake National Wildlife Refuge (part) *Sullys Hill National Game Preserve *Wood Lake National Wildlife Refuge Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 6,964 people, 2,328 households, and 1,701 families residing in the county. The population density was 5 people per square mile (2/km²). There were 2,932 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was mostly White (50.85%) and Native American (48.05%). In addition, 0.10% are Black/African American, 0.01% are Asian, 0.01% are Pacific Islander, 0.16% are from other races, and 0.82% are from two or more races. 0.79% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 25.2% were of Norwegian and 14.8% German ancestry according to Census 2000. There were 2,328 households out of which 38.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.50% were married couples living together, 16.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.90% were non-families. 24.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.48. In the county the population was spread out with 36.10% under the age of 18, 7.80% from 18 to 24, 23.30% from 25 to 44, 19.40% from 45 to 64, and 13.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 102.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.00 males. The median income for a household in the county was $26,688, and the median income for a family was $31,558. Males had a median income of $23,056 versus $17,862 for females. The per capita income for the county was $11,509. About 24.40% of families and 29.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 38.90% of those under age 18 and 16.70% of those age 65 or over. Population by decade Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.55,0.0,0.0) ImageSize = width:455 height:303 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:15000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:1000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:500 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:1890 text:1890 bar:1900 text:1900 bar:1910 text:1910 bar:1920 text:1920 bar:1930 text:1930 bar:1940 text:1940 bar:1950 text:1950 bar:1960 text:1960 bar:1970 text:1970 bar:1980 text:1980 bar:1990 text:1990 bar:2000 text:2000 bar:2010 text:2010 PlotData= color:barra width:25 align:left bar:1890 from: 0 till:2460 bar:1900 from: 0 till:8320 bar:1910 from: 0 till:12681 bar:1920 from: 0 till:13095 bar:1930 from: 0 till:13327 bar:1940 from: 0 till:12629 bar:1950 from: 0 till:10675 bar:1960 from: 0 till:9435 bar:1970 from: 0 till:8245 bar:1980 from: 0 till:7944 bar:1990 from: 0 till:7198 bar:2000 from: 0 till:6964 bar:2010 from: 0 till:6660 PlotData= bar:1890 at:2460 fontsize:S text: 2460 shift:(-8,5) bar:1900 at:8320 fontsize:S text: 8320 shift:(-8,5) bar:1910 at:12681 fontsize:S text: 12681 shift:(-8,5) bar:1920 at:13095 fontsize:S text: 13095 shift:(-8,5) bar:1930 at:13327 fontsize:S text: 13327 shift:(-8,5) bar:1940 at:12629 fontsize:S text: 12629 shift:(-8,5) bar:1950 at:10675 fontsize:S text: 10675 shift:(-8,5) bar:1960 at:9435 fontsize:S text: 9435 shift:(-8,5) bar:1970 at:8245 fontsize:S text: 8245 shift:(-8,5) bar:1980 at:7944 fontsize:S text: 7944 shift:(-8,5) bar:1990 at:7198 fontsize:S text: 7198 shift:(-8,5) bar:2000 at:6964 fontsize:S text: 6964 shift:(-8,5) bar:2010 at:6660 fontsize:S text: 6660 shift:(-8,5) TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:Data from U.S. Census Bureau Places Cities *Brinsmade *Esmond *Knox *Leeds *Maddock *Minnewaukan *Oberon *Warwick *York Note: all incorporated communities in North Dakota are called "cities" regardless of their size. Census-designated place *Fort Totten Other communities *St. Michael *Tokio See also *National Register of Historic Places listings in Benson County, North Dakota References Category:Counties of North Dakota Category:Benson County, North Dakota Category:Established in 1883